This invention relates to firearms, and more particularly to an adjustable muzzle brake for a rifle which reduces the recoil reaction force on the shooter.
It is well-known that the shooter of a firearm, such as a rifle, shotgun or handgun, experiences a recoil or reaction force when the gun is fired. The recoil is directed in an opposite direction to the path of the bullet or shot as it travels down the barrel of the firearm. Because a firearm is typically supported by a shooter in a standing position and sometimes off to the right or left side of the shooter's body at the shooter's shoulder, waist or other body position, the recoil force also causes the gun barrel to climb, often at an angle with respect to the vertical, for example, forty-five degrees (i.e., "muzzle climb") The amount of linear and angular movement of the gun on account of the recoil force varies due to the different physical and psychological characteristics of the shooter and the position of the firearm in relation to the shooter's body. This recoil force can be physically unpleasant to endure and can cause inaccuracies in the shooter's aim.
The prior art is replete with attempts to reduce the amount of the recoil force and/or the muzzle climb, with the greater goals of making the firearm more accurate and physically pleasant to shoot. Most, if not all, of the devices vent the expanding gases resulting from the explosion of the gunpowder or similar material, in one or more predetermined directions that run counter to the direction of the recoil and/or the muzzle climb. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,191,484 to Hughes, which describes a recoil elimination device having a series of gas discharge ports and baffle ports. Both types of ports vent the gases in directions substantially transverse to the axis of the gun barrel. An adjustable sleeve is provided to cover a portion or all of one or both types of ports, thereby varying the amount of gas venting, resulting in varying degrees of recoil control.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,895 to Mazzanti describes a recoil reducing device that has a tubular member with a plurality of slots formed in the radial wall of the member. Semi-circular baffle members are longitudinally spaced along the tubular member and have circular cut-outs at their centers to allow the fired bullet to pass through. The baffle members are sequentially rotated at approximately ninety degrees with respect to each other. A sleeve is disposed over the outer surface of the tubular member. The sleeve also has apertures cut therein. This complex design results in a helical flow of the gas through the length of the tubular member before the gas exits the lateral apertures of the tubular member and sleeve.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,285 to Ellis et al. discloses an adjustable muzzle compensator having a plurality of apertures formed in its housing to allow gas to be diverted out of the apertures in radial directions transverse to the axis of the gun barrel. The compensator is adjustable for accurate indexing of the apertures such that the resulting direction of the diverted gas is opposite to the direction of muzzle climb.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,528 to McQueen discloses a stabilizer for a firearm such as a rifle. The stabilizer is attached to the firearm muzzle to control muzzle climb by adjusting both the magnitude and direction of the forces that counter muzzle climb. The stabilizer enables a controlled amount of gas to escape through ports and slots oriented transverse to the gun barrel. The stabilizer and the slots can be adjusted to direct the force of the escaping gases to be counter to the direction of muzzle climb. The magnitude of the counter force can also be adjusted by varying the amount of openings of the slots and ports. Another muzzle climb compensator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,484 to Bekker et al.
It is also well-known that muzzle brakes having holes to allow the gas to escape transverse to the gun barrel also have an effect on the shot pattern of a shotgun. This is because the transversely escaping gas exerts less force on the plurality of shot pellets exiting the muzzle, which produces a more compact shot pattern. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 618,901, 2,484,998, 2,558,200 and 2,712,193. The '998 and '193 patents also recognize the fact that the transversely escaping gases have the added effect of reducing recoil.
However, heretofore, no known adjustable device for reducing solely the linear recoil has been provided for a rifle and having a simple mechanism for rotatably choosing between a recoil reduction mode and a non-recoil reduction mode.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a muzzle brake for a firearm, primarily a rifle, for reducing the linear recoil associated with the firing of the rifle.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an adjustable muzzle brake that has a quick locator detent mechanism that makes the muzzle brake easily rotatably adjustable between an open position where recoil is reduced and a closed position where recoil is not reduced.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adjustable muzzle brake that is provided by the gun manufacturer as an integral part of the firearm, instead of aftermarket which usually necessitates modifying the muzzle end of the gun barrel to accommodate the attachment of the aftermarket muzzle brake.
The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.